Electrical switch assemblies utilize various principles in order to provide suitable functionality for a given application and often to provide a specific “feel” to the switch. For example, in electronic appliances such as microwave ovens, illuminated films are sometimes used for push actuation of a button, e.g. on a keypad. In such switches, as shown in FIG. 14, a printed circuit board A underlies a layer of film B. The PCB A comprises a light emitting diode (LED) C, which illuminates the film B by directing light through a dome D, often a metal dome D with an aperture at the top. Given the geometry shown in FIG. 14, it can be seen that the area of illumination E is limited by the size of the aperture in the dome. Since the area of illumination E is typically required to reveal a graphical element on the layer of film B, limitations on the area of illumination E correspondingly limit the size of the graphic and thus the potential applications of such a switch type.
In other electrical switch assemblies, multi-directional actuator buttons or knobs are often used to provide multiple functions together in the same assembly. For example, in automotive applications, seat adjustments, mirror adjustments and entertainment systems, just to name a few, typically utilize multi-functional knobs. However, such switch knobs are typically limited in their movements and it is desirable to maximize the number of functions that can be provided by the same switch assembly, especially given the number of features that require electrical activation.